Apps for Chronic Diseases Management

Tips & Tricks

Anastasiia Kholodna

May 16, 2018, 2:14 p.m.

High level of tech development allows modern users to get any service or product using their devices to order food, a taxi, call a nanny and much more. It’s logical to assume that even such a common phenomenon as chronic diseases can be controlled and consulted with the help of CDM apps that monitor health.

The potential of such apps is definitely great. Most patients are inclined to adhere to physician-imposed restrictions, such as diet or certain exercises, only in a narrow time frame when a session occurred. But it's enough to go through just a couple of days after visiting a doctor as patients deviate from the prescriptions. Then chronic disease management (CDM) will replace medical supervision in real life.

Benefits of digital health are visible to the naked eye. Patients with chronic illnesses couldn’t only have a digital assistant which would remind them of medical regimens but also would provide an opportunity to receive counseling without coming to the doctor's office.

So why united healthcare disease management is still not widespread?

Users are willing to pay for listening to music or playing a game because it helps them to have a good time. But the same doesn’t apply to CDM apps so the developers are put in an awkward position because the creation of such a large-scale application is expensive. In this case, the developers are forced to change course for medical institutions or insurance companies. On the one hand, medicine should be programmed to implement an app that will help maintain the health of their patients but on the other hand, it’s the visit to their offices that brings most of the income. Thus, developers are faced with a dilemma due to which the appearance of an important chronic disease app is delayed.

Undoubtedly, the implementation of the app is very important and both patients and medical institutions need to understand this value at the moment. The presence of a chronic disease shouldn’t cause the patient to neglect treatment because it isn’t a cold to which you can make efforts and you will be healthy in a week. Health is a thing that requires constant supervision and a serious attitude and that’s why CDM apps are so needed.